New York operators and lawmakers are equally desperate for online sports betting as the state needs more revenue sources due to the pandemic. The Empire State currently allows for sports betting at physical sportsbooks only in the Upstate part of New York. Like all other states, the shutdowns have cost New York badly, and online sports betting may help increase state revenue.
New York is currently losing all of this potential source of revenue to New Jersey and Rhode Island, where bettors can go and place a wager on their phones. The resulting situation has now come to boiling point, making both lawmakers and stakeholders realize they have missed a lot.
On Tuesday, Jeff Gural, a managing partner at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack and owner of New York’s Tioga Downs, represented the stakeholders’ desperation in the following words: “Casinos would go along with whatever the state of New York wants to do. This is an emergency.”
The state senator Joe Addabbo suggested veto-proof legislation. His House fellow and counterpart, Gary Pretlow, also said a measure would be incorporated in the House budget and would likely be proposed before the turn of the year. However, if it’s not proposed, said Pretlow, the House and Senate would stand together when Gov. Cuomo presents the budget in January.
Pretlow further said that both chambers would include sports betting as part of the revenue package this year.
The State Senate Bill 17D would authorize the Empire State’s seven retail casinos to operate an online/mobile sportsbook. Once legalized, New York has the potential of becoming a huge market and could draw as much as $900 million in annual revenue. According to NY Sports Day projections, the state of New York may gain $108 million in tax revenue from online sports betting legalization.
However, if New York allows for two skins per sportsbook, the expanded market could bring in $1.3 billion in annual revenue for the Empire State’s online sports betting industry. The state would draw $156 million in yearly tax revenue and an overall $168 million in licensing fees from 14 skins.
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